Promotion of Reading Habits Group 1 ( Friday 2) Group 1 (Saturday 2)

How would you go about promoting reading habits?

1.- Introduction. too long!!! must be shorten and summarized!!

The Council of Europe encourages to their states members to enrol in programs that
promote reading among EU citizens. These measures root in the idea that a lifelong learner
is first and foremost a lifelong reader. As both literacy and lifelong learning are closely
related to reading, a reading promotion plan aspires to bring about positive change in both
areas.

Coupled with the previous considerations, reading becomes an essential skill to the
quality of our lives and to our ability to take our place as citizens. A Reading Plan addresses
ways to ensure that each of our students — regardless of age, background, income level,
level of education, or location — has access to reading of all kinds and in all platforms. With
this in mind we should wonder why reading is so important; next a set of reasons will briefly
explained:

➔ Reading is a lifelong source of pleasure for individuals.

➔ Reading empowers the critical thinking skills of every individual.

➔ Reading can enhance empathy and lead to greater understanding of people who are
different from us.

➔ Reading helps reduce barriers to access. It allows people to make meaning of their
world.

➔ Reading lays the foundation for future learning, providing us the capacity for critical
thinking.

➔ Reading is a trigger for the imagination.

➔ Reading preserves the culture for the next generation.

Furthermore, the promotion of reading is different from teaching to read; it begins in the
family and at school, and it requires people and places that make books available. Hence
the school is set up as the ideal context to carry out a Reading Promotion Plan.

A reading plan should be transversal, worked on from the different curricular areas and
dealing deal with a huge rage of topics in accordance to the School Educational Project as
well as the students’ needs and interests.
 The promotion of reading habits perfectly fits on the English area due to its communicative
approach. The reading material should be within the learners' level of competency.

In order to give an answer, this document will comprise four main sections. We shall start
by framing the issue at stake within the legal references in force. The second section will
then provide a theoretical foundation. This theoretical scaffolding will be tackled by following
three authors of reference in the field, namely Cummings, Ellis G. and Brewster, J. Section
three will rendered explicit a core answer to the practical case. In doing so, we will provide a
set of proposals to promote reading. Finally, a concluding remark will be put forward in a bid
to summarize the most relevant ideas covered all throughout the essay.

Once having introduced the topic we shall now comment on the main references that can
be found in the current legislation.

2.- Legal framework.

First of all, we shall start analyzing the chief legal references that apply to the question
posed.
LOE 2/2006, amended by LOMCE 8/2013, establishes in its article 2, Aims, that priority
attention should be paid to those factors that favour quality in education, reading promotion
among them. In this sense, article 26 devoted to pedagogical principles points out that time
should be devoted to reading in all subject areas. we will have to dedicate some time to
reading in all subjects in order to promote reading habits.

Furthermore, RD 126/2014, provides relevant information on the issue at stake: article 10

establishes the transversal elements that must be worked in all areas, being Reading
Comprehension one of these elements.

Decree 198/2014, that further specifies concretes the curriculum for the Region of Murcia,
highlights in its article 25 that the Teaching Plans, included in the Curricular proposal, will
contain the measures in order to foster the interest and reading habits and the improvement
of oral and written expression.

Concerning the curriculum for the foreign language area, the third block of contents
centres around the reading skill, as the ability to understand written texts, both in the
student’s mother language and in a foreign language, is an essential element in the learning
of any language. Within this block, the use of varied strategies is fostered, as well as the
necessity of introducing and working on contents first in an oral way before they are
presented in the written form.

Besides, the Order ECD/65/2015 considers reading in the school context as a basic skill
in order to expand linguistic competence and learning, becoming the main way to access all
areas and original sources of knowledge. In this sense, the development of skills that lead
to the knowledge of literary texts are of vital importance, not only due to their value as a part
of cultural heritage, but also as a source of enjoyment and long-life learning.

Last but not least, according to Order of evaluation, 20th November 2014, schools will
elaborate a reading plan to improve reading comprehension and to foster taste for reading.

3.- Theoretical Framework. Mirar el theoretical de Carmen mas conciso y al grano

Communicating goes therefore, according to our curriculum, beyond the mere

learning of the grammatical rules of the language. Effective communication requires much
more; this is, discourse, sociolinguistic, sociocultural, strategic competence and intercultural
awareness.

Our theoretical framework combines the best of traditional approaches with the latest
developments in language teaching theories and methodology.

According to Piaget, our students are in the concrete operational stage; for that reason, the
student is in a good moment to foster reading for pleasure. To do so, we start from what the
student knows in order to acquire a significant learning (Vygotsky) and we will take into
account his/her needs and interests (Constructivism) and the different learning styles
(Gardner).

In addition, following Nunan, the curriculum is open and flexible and it is centred in our
students.

Furthermore, Ellis and Brewster, on their book The Primary English Teacher’s Guide,
establish that the development of the four basic skills is important. For that reason, in lower
levels, we will focus on receptive skills (Listening and Reading), but considering productive
skills as well (Speaking and Writing). However, at higher levels of the Primary Stage, we
will develop productive skills, always taking into account the receptive skills. These four
basic skills will be used when students are asked to solve problems that they can find in a
real life situation. They are expected to develop receptive strategies at the time they are
able to communicate with some fluency in order to give information efficiently.
Regarding Cummings, it is necessary that students develop strong reading skills in their L1
in order to acquire the necessary skills to read the foreign language. For that reason
Cummings recommends to postpone the reading skill in the foreign language until they
have developed the skills in their L1. To do so, course books are not recommended, in case
that there is a course book, it should be based on pictures.

However, Ellis and Brewster establish in their Primary English Teaching Guide that the
children should start learning a foreign language at the later stages, so it would not be a
problem to introduce listening and speaking simultaneously.

Finally, Krashen second language acquisition researches claim that we acquire language
by means of understanding it. Students make better progress in classes that supply more
"comprehensible input." Under those circumstances, one of the best ways to help students
increase their language proficiency is to encourage them to read extensively.

4.- Action plan - Curricular Elements mirar el de Carmen

Next, we shall design our answer in the scope of the legal and theoretical background that
has just been rendered explicit. We shall context our action plan in a Year 5 group of
Primary Education in an urban environment school near a local library that ease the
realization of activities related to the world of books and reading.

In the first place it is necessary to link our response to the main curricular elements,
namely: general stage objectives, key competences, contents, evaluation criteria and e
learning standards.

Regarding to general stage objectives a reading promotion plan can be related to each of
them as different topics and subjects should be dealt. Nevertheless stage objectives e)
which refers to knowledge and acquisition of the Spanish language... and f) which refers to
the learning of a foreign language can be said to directly benefit from it.

Key competences can also be fostered by a reading promotion plan, being the linguistic
competence which occupies the central role, although there are close connections to
cultural and artistic awareness due to the intrinsic cultural value of literary works which are
at the core of any reading plan

Lastly, contents, evaluation criteria and learning standards from the four blocks of contents
are integrated in measures to promote reading among students. Even though the third block
of contents, centred around the reading skill, will be at the core of a reading plan.

It is also worth mentioning to mention that values, culture and interdisciplinary connections
are also fostered by means of reading, as most stories include a moral or dealt with
different cultures and points of view. Stories reveal universal truths about the world.
Through stories we see how very different people share the same life experiences and how
human nature can transcend culture.

Bearing in mind this information, we shall attempt to offer a clear and comprehensive plan
of the techniques which would be worth applying in this particular case:

Have a class library: there will be a class library run by the students with varied material
including books, magazines, short stories, leaflets... Graded Readers for young learners
contain many illustrations and are written in simple, familiar language that learners will be
able to understand and enjoy. They help to motivate students and give a visible sign of
progressing through the ‘grades’.

Encourage to share your reading experiences. Tell your students what you've been
reading, what you've gained or learned from these texts, what you recommend and ask
them to do the same.

Invite students to socialize around reading. Set up book clubs, reading groups, literature
circles. Many students need to interact with each other around texts. It greatly enhances
their comprehension and makes it so much more enjoyable.

Take a field trip. This is another way to make reading social and exciting. Visit your local
library near the school or a bookstore in the neighbourhood. It's not about checking out or
buying books -- it's about being surrounded by thousands of books, touching their gorgeous
pages, seeing the world of possibility in print, salivating over what there is to know and
explore. This is an event that parents can organize and the school can support or
encourage.

Listen to audio books. Invite students to listen to them; play short passages. While they
are not developing decoding or fluency skills, they are acquiring vocabulary, applying
comprehension strategies, and enjoying stories or accruing information. Their mind is free
to visualize the scenes in a way that creating lasting images.

Invite native storytellers. Another activity that can be supported by school and parents.
Kids can be greatly impacted from hearing and participating in stories. This is a great
opportunity to expose our students to a different linguistic oral source.

Make connections between reading and other issues. Reading a book is an ideal
opportunity to establish links between our area, other subjects and the transversal values
include in our school educational project.
Teach reading strategies. Finally, all teachers, in every content area, should be
responsible for teaching reading. Kids won't enjoy reading if they can't do it -- no one loves
doing something that's really hard.

This brings us to the end of our general scheme of work. As I mentioned above these types
of measures are highly recommended for any school in any context inside or outside our
region.

Once we have established the broad guidelines that we can put into practice in order to
promote reading habits, we shall now explain one of them in detail: storytelling.

As we have previously pointed out in the theoretical framework, it is essential to take into
account that we should work on oral skills before giving our students reading and writing
working tasks. Due to this fact, storytelling will give us a lot of possibilities to improve
comprehension and foster a taste for reading.

By using storytelling we are working on stories in an oral way first and, at the same time
that we are promote a feeling of relaxation, lower their affective filter, encourage active
participation, cooperation, imagination and creativity. Furthermore, once children have
listened to the story, they can be asked to carry out different tasks related to it, thus stories
provide a significant context to work on the different skills in an integrated way.

For all these reasons, we provide an example about how to deal with a storytelling session
for a mixed-ability group in Year 5. In order to carry out a storytelling session, we will
differentiate it into pre, while and post stages, so as to favour comprehension and guide our
students in the tasks proposed.

Pre-stage: The aim of this stage is to activate our students’ previous knowledge and
encourage them to make predictions on what they are going to listen to and see. We can
provide either the title of the story or use some pictures related to it and ask some
questions.

While-stage: In this stage, students will listen to the story. In order to make the input
comprehensible, the teacher (or the person who tells the story) will adapt the speech to the
level of the students, as well as he/she will make use of visuals, body language and
paralinguistic elements. Also, during this stage we can carry out activities to check general
and specific comprehension, such as: ordering the pictures, matching pictures to
sentences, labelling pictures, asking questions, providing true/false statements, etc.

Post-stage: Finally, once the students have listened to the story and comprehension has
been checked, we can practice other skills using the story and the vocabulary and
exponents used as a referential context. We can provide the written story and ask our
students to create a comic or act it out. In order to increase interest in reading, we can
provide our students with texts that tell an alternative ending or what it would happen if we
change some elements of the story.

5.- Conclusion.

All throughout this essay we have proposed a motivating approach based upon different
measures and techniques in order to develop a reading promotion plan in our English class.
We have followed an orderly sequence on the basis of the more general principles up to
the development of an specific activity in the classroom, namely a storytelling session.

As a concluding remark, we shall state that it is crucial that the first contact our students
have with the challenging task of reading is not an off-putting one. On the contrary, and
complying with the current legislation, we need to make it fun and enjoyable so as to instill
enthusiasm and a positive attitude towards reading amongst students.

A reading promotion plan should be directed to perceive reading as a way to relax and
enrich our students’ minds. Reading is also an increasingly critical skill to learn and develop
to be successful in school and consequently in a future professional world, by means of
lifelong learning.

6.- Bibliography.

This practical application has been built following the current legislation:

- LOE 2/2006, amended by LOMCE 8/2013

- Royal Decree 126/2014
- Decree 198/2014.
- Order ECD/65/2015

Furthermore the most outstanding scholars and their works have guided our response,
particularly:

Ellis and Brewster. The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. London: Penguin Books, 2002.
Halliwell, S. Teaching English in the Primary Classroom. Harlow: Longman, 1992.

Harmer, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman, 1983.

Miller, D. The Book Whisperer. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Pennac, D. The Rights of the Reader. Massachusetts: Candlewick Books, 2008